nbacking.com new release
Franklin Gonzalez
Hi nbackers, nbacking.com creator here, there's a new version out and I wanted you to check it out for feedback, what you liked, what you don't, so that I can selectively iterate over the things that benefit the majority of us.
For new ones, our nbacking platform has up to 4 modalities at once — Spatial (grid position), Auditory (spoken letters), Color, and Image (geometric shapes).
Speed is adjustable from 1 to 4 seconds per trial (I know some of you want it even faster, let me know), trials from 1 to 999, and N-level from 1 to 99 (Up to 99 is quite unrealistic, maybe we could cap it at some point).
We've been slowly getting closer to our good old classic BrianWorkshop features, we now have:
- Interference: A percentage of trials become "lure" trials at near-miss offsets (N-1, N+1, 2N). They trick your brain into false matches. Configurable from 0-50% and earns bonus points.
- Variable N-Back: The N changes randomly every single trial. The current N is shown in the grid. Forces you to adapt constantly.
- Crab-Back: The comparison offset cycles through a descending pattern instead of staying fixed. The current offset is displayed on the grid too.
- Self-Paced: No timer. You advance trials manually with a keybind. Great for when you want to really focus without time pressure, but we take the average time for points.
We are currently missing 3D N-Back, Math/Arithmetic, Double Audio, Multi-Stimulus, Combination and classic Jaeggi. These are missing because our scoring and points formulas are quite attached and overfit to our current modalities. Extending our formulas even further with these missing modes will bring more complexity to our system, I mean, I need to know first, what you think of our current version and if a different scoring and points system have a better match for those missing modalities.
Scoring & Progression
Points scale with N-level, number of active modes, speed, and mode multipliers. Higher streak reduces penalties. Now there's a 26-tier progression system. Your tier badge shows on your profile, leaderboard, and in the community feed.
If active in your configuration, the Auto-N adjustment raises your n-level immediately when you score above your upper threshold and only drops it after 3 consecutive sessions below your lower threshold. Both thresholds are configurable.
Streaks increment every time you play. Miss 4 days (inactive 96 hours) and it resets back to 0.
The Theft Mechanic
This is a crazy one, I thought, what if a nbacker earns a lot of points but never comes back. Now when you score points, they're stolen from nearby inactive players above you on the same mode leaderboard.
Only active players have a shield against theft.
Don't play for 4 days (same 96h streak window)? You lose your shield and become a target.
This is a good situation to build teams and friendship, so friends are immune to each other's theft.
There's real strategy in who you add (max 5 friend slots). The post-game screen and notifications show exactly who you stole from and how much.
Global ranking by total points, or filter by specific mode combinations (Spatial, Auditory, Color, Image toggles). Your row is always pinned at the top with a "jump to my position" link in your rank number. Shield icons show who's protected, streak flames show who's active.
Social Features
- Friends: Add up to 5. See their shield/vulnerable status, country flags, and link to their profiles. Mutual theft immunity.
- Community Feed: Public message board unlocked at Tier 9. Shows rank, tier badge, country, points, and your message (up to 500 chars). This page could have ads in the future; it depends a lot on community donations.
- Notifications that is filterable by category: theft alerts, friend requests, friend accepts, and tier-ups. Unread badge in the navbar.
Your profile has 4 tabs that you can set to public to other authenticated users (except overview, that's always public) if you want to, but friends are always able to see them:
- Overview (always public): Global rank, tier progress bar, stats cards (points, sessions, time, streak), and your community message editor
- Wealth (default private): Stacked line chart showing point accumulation over time per mode. Mode Mastery cards below showing your level and rolling avg N per mode combo
- Statistics (default private): Line charts for scores/points with modality filters and N-level filter
- History (default private): Every session and theft event, filterable, grouped by date
Customization
- Keybinds: Rebind every key (spatial, auditory, color, image, start/stop, advance).
- Clickbinds: Use mouse buttons instead of or alongside keyboard. Assign any of 5 mouse buttons to any action.
- Feedback: Toggle color feedback on keys, vibration/shake animation, grid overlay lines.
- Speed, Trials, Interference %: All adjustable from settings or inline on the game page.
- Daily Goal: Set a time-based or session-based daily goal. Progress bar shows on the game page.
- Focus Mode: Hides everything except the game board during play.
You can simulate different scenarios, adjust correct/incorrect answers, N, modes, speed, streak, interference, and the multipliers. See estimated points live. Great for understanding how the scoring works.
And that's it. Let me know what you think, if you have any questions, etc. I'm here to help.
Website: nbacking
Discord: DualNBack Discord
Subreddit: dualnbacktask (reddit.com)
Happy NBacking! 🟡